One of my long term dreams is to see the cherry blossoms full bloom during spring in Japan. The stars, weather, and funding all aligned to make it happen in 2019. Husband and I planned to stay in Tokyo with several other friends for his birthday and a convention. We all arrived at different times, starting March 1st but everyone was in Tokyo by mid March.
We planned the trip near the end of 2018, before any forecasts were available, to go to Anime Japan. I had no idea at the time, it would all work in favor of my bucket list. At the end of January, early February, I started seeing reports that the blooms would show up a little early in 2019.
I hoped and crossed my fingers as the trip got closer and closer. I watched and waited….
The Weather
One of my teammates from work and his partner went to Tokyo the week before my husband left for the trip. An odd bit of coincidence – the coworker and I have birthdays 3 days apart in different years and our partners’ birthdays are 2 or 3 days apart in different years as well. The report back from their trip was that it was COLD and a few blooms had started to peak out.
When husband arrived a few days later, he confirmed it was super cold as well. Since a very tiny number of the trees started to bloom, husband downloaded an app for his phone called, “Sakura Navi” that showed trees blooming in parks near by and the percentage of tress flowering. It is a really helpful app and I recommend paying the few dollars it costs.
I didn’t listen to the weather warnings and assumed, because it was spring, the days would warm up quickly.
BOY WAS I WRONG!
I spent most of the trip cold but every minute was worth it to see the cherry blossoms. The last week we were in Tokyo, the weather warmed up a tiny bit and the sun peeked out from behind the cloudy gloom so we took the opportunity to bike around and snap photos.
Cherry Blossoms Bike Tour
We started at Shinjuku Garden, but I do not recommend going there unless you have your heart set on that specific park. It was extremely busy! We took lots of pictures there but it was hard to get around everyone to take a decent shot. I went to the same park with my friend one day when the weather was gloomy and cold, just see the gardens themselves and the crowds were much, much smaller. We thought it would less crowded during the week but the park was still packed. We were not the only tourists out to see the cherry blossoms that day. This is one small example:
The bike ride was so much fun! We managed to hit five parks but one was no longer there! In the same spot on the map was a construction sight that appeared to be a stadium. I guess the Olympics are closing in!
On our way, we passed Nogi Park that was formerly a general’s home. The house was small but placed on a steep hill; there was a tree at the bottom that grew tall enough that the top branches are near the top of the hill. We caught sight of the beautiful cherry blossom branches biking by on the road.
We stopped at another park on one end of Roppongi, in Tokyo mid town. The park is part of an art museum complex and there are several large scale sculptures on the grounds. It was really beautiful and filled some quirky rich people, like this lady walking her rabbit….
The weirdest spot our little tour went through was Mori Tower. I had never been but the little garden was lovely. It was a little more sparse but the trees were all in bloom and it was not very busy. The park has a little pond in the center, which was decorated with a big heart to take photos in front of.
We tried to go to Yoyogi park but arrived just as it was closing. We didnt get a chance to go back to the park but I’ve been on previous trips.
We made a small loop on our bike trip. You can see where we started in Shin Okubo and around town.
Have you ever seen the cherry blossoms in Japan? What’s your city/country’s spring attraction?